Meet the rare bird calling the West Midlands home

14:30, 14 AUG 2016

BY MIKE LOCKLEY

For the very first time, little egrets, birds usually associated with Mediterranean climes, have nested in our patch.

It’s the West Midlands first that has birdwatchers in a flap.

Yes, the egret has landed. Not only that, it’s nested.

For the very first time, little egrets, birds usually associated with Mediterranean climes, have nested in our patch.

West Midlands Bird Club broke the news after being tipped-off by residents living close to the heronry at Middleton, Warwickshire.

They had seen small, snow-white birds that definitely weren’t herons. A closer inspection revealed three little egrets had hatched high in the dense cover of trees.

Bird Club leading light Ray Davies said: “No one knew about it until they could be seen standing in the nest. It really is a wonderful event.

It may be a first, but it’s not totally unexpected.

Little egrets, perhaps spurred by climate change, began to colonise the south of England 20 years ago and the small number of newcomers quickly began to grow. What’s more, the egrets’ range expanded rapidly.

When they began to nest in Conway, North Wales, birders knew it was only a matter of time before the little egret became a West Midlands breeding species.

Read more  

Mediterranean birds moving to Runcorn and Widnes wetlands

Apr 18 2013 by Sam Yarwood, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

WILDLIFE lovers in Runcorn and Widnes have been encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for a rare bird spotted on saltmarsh sites along the banks of the Mersey.

The little egret, a smaller cousin of our more familiar and larger grey heron, is one of a number of species that have made the gradual journey north through Europe in recent years, despite being a rare migratory visitor just 20 years ago.

During the 1990s, anyone wanting to see the little egret would have to make the long journey to Cornwall or Devon, however the birds are now being spotted regularly along the saltmarshes of the Mersey.

Nature experts believe a warming climate and natural colonisation of the north may be behind the egret’s move to the region.

Increasing numbers of the great white and little egrets and the exotic-looking spoonbill are being spotted across the North West’s saltmarshes.

The trust hopes its strategy for connecting wetlands across 8,000 hectares of river banks will boost the fortunes for birds like the little egret, and bring an added bonus for visitors heading to nature reserves.

Saltmarsh at Wigg Island and Moore have been recommended as good spots to sight the little egret.

Richard Gardner, the trust’s living landscape manager, said: “Our vision is to create a string of interconnected wetlands, which we’re already achieving through working with local farmers and landowners.”

“The combination of healthier rivers, more sympathetic riverbank management and maintaining floodplain grazing will be creating the conditions that birds like the little egret find irresistible. In recent months we’ve been lucky enough to have both great white and little egrets making regular visits to our reserves, and we hope this will continue as we develop the habitats further.”

http://www.runcornandwidnesweeklynews.co.uk/runcorn-widnes-news/runcorn-widnes-local-news/2013/04/18/mediterranean-birds-moving-to-runcorn-and-widnes-wetlands-55368-33187718/

Little Egret article- sent by Richard Muirhead

Bird facts:  http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/l/littleegret/index.aspx